


inter spem et metum (between hope and fear)

by houfukuseisaku



Category: Evillious Chronicles
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Roleswap, Multi, Pre-OSS Novel Headcanons, Two Hands Agenda
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2020-02-11
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:07:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 14,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21937942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/houfukuseisaku/pseuds/houfukuseisaku
Summary: An Evillious Chronicles AU where the main characters of Project Ma’s 1st and 2nd iterations are swapped with the 7th iteration, also known as MAswap.Presented in pseudo-infomine/song-summary format, inspired bybefore the starlight fades.
Relationships: various
Comments: 2
Kudos: 19





	1. Original Sin Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is the story of the beginning.

**Prologue:** _Prophet Merry-Go-Round_

The prelude to the beginning. The nation that rules over most of Evillious is the Magic Kingdom Levianta, a country blessed by the Twin Dragon Gods and built upon the legacy of the previous world. One man in particular, a scientist half-blind in one eye, aspires to have one of his creations ascend beyond the Senate’s control. His name is Seth Twiright.

* * *

 **Act 0:** _Queen of the Glass_

Maria Moonlit, otherwise known as the Queen Prophet Alice Merry-Go-Round, ruminates on her situation. Used by both the Gods and the Senate as a puppet, what she desires most is for her son, Prince Adam Moonlit, to be happy and free from the chains of responsibility that bind her.

One day, she receives a revelation that she then presents to the masses. To prevent MKL’s annihilation, the Twin Dragon Gods must be reborn. And to that end, compatible human vessels must be created.

Her personal aide and guard, Gammon Loop Octo, claims that his Purple Dreams depict the opposite happening. Alice accepts that she is a failure prophet, initiating Project Ma despite Gammon’s protests. She establishes Seth as the head scientist of the project despite Adam’s eligibility, wanting to protect her son from her mistakes.

* * *

 **Act 1 Part 1:** _Project Ma_

An ex-priestess of the Pantheon, Elluka Chirclatia, is chosen as Project Ma’s first candidate, due to her ability to cure HER. She wonders if she will be able to save the country, considering that she was driven from the temple for delinquent behavior. She also fears the rampant rumours of her association with the heretical forest god, Held.

Kiril Clockworker, Elluka’s fiancé, is proud of her candidacy, wholeheartedly supporting her. But a seed of doubt sprouts in his heart. He doesn’t want Elluka to forget about and abandon him, once she’s given birth to the God Twins and become the Queen Mem Aleph.

Seth Twiright contemplates his plan to install Kiril as the next Head of Senate, once Elluka becomes the Queen. Preying on Kiril’s doubts, he convinces him to drug Elluka with Venom in order to make her dependent on him.

The Venom affects Elluka’s pregnancy, killing the God Twins before they can be born. Devastated, Kiril and Elluka elope to Heldogort. Seth resolves to try again, turning his attention to another of his ghoul children.

.

 **Act 1 Part 2:** _Escape of Clockworker the Witch_

Irina Clockworker, Kiril’s younger sister, resents that Kiril chose Elluka over her, envying their relationship and hating them both for abandoning her. Not only that, but she feels like Elluka stole Kiril from her the moment she cured him of the HER syndrome. But Irina also feels guilty over her schadenfreude at Elluka’s miscarriage, calling herself a witch for her malice.

Since she feels like she’s never been loved her entire life, Irina eagerly accepts Seth’s proposal to make her a Project Ma candidate. However, once she gives birth to the God Twins, she realizes that they’ll almost certainly be manipulated by Seth just as he manipulated her. Irina decides to take them and escape.

Fleeing from MKL, Irina lives on the run, eventually taking refuge in Held’s Forest. Coming across Kiril and Elluka’s house in the heart of the woods, she manages to make it to their doorstep before collapsing from exhaustion and hunger.

.

 **Act 1 Part 3:** _Moonlit Bear_

When Kiril leaves the house to gather materials to make a clockwork doll for Elluka, she patiently waits for his return. She decides to gift something to him in return, but cannot think of anything to make. Desperate to prove her love and devotion, Elluka obsesses over the idea until she hears a noise at the door.

Opening the door, she sees a sleeping red cat curled around two golden fruits. Elluka tries to take the fruits, but the cat wakes up and struggles to protect its treasure. Growing increasingly angry and desperate, Elluka stabs the cat with a knife.

At that moment, Kiril returns from his trip into the forest. He is horrified at seeing Irina’s corpse, a knife stabbed into her back, and Elluka clutching twin babies to her chest. He explains to her the truth of what she has done, and Elluka is wracked with guilt. They promise to take care of Irina’s children as atonement, naming them Phobos and Deimos.

* * *

 **Act 2 Part 1:** _Ma Survival -Ma-_

Bothered by his constant failures, Seth decides to make one last attempt. Knowing that Adam has a secret lover, Meta Salmhofer of the Apocalypse terrorist organization, Seth sets things up so that Adam is in charge of Meta’s capture and arrest. To prevent rumours about his illicit affair from circulating among the masses, Adam convinces Meta to let herself be apprehended, promising to save her somehow.

Meanwhile, in the neighbouring country of Heldogort, Eve Zvezda frantically tries to save her mother from a life-threatening illness. After exhausting all her shamanistic knowledge and practices, she reluctantly decides to head to MKL in search of a cure. But once she arrives, she is derided for her heretical faith and thrown into prison, sharing her cell with Meta. Driven to desperation, she begs an audience with the Prince.

Despite the Senate’s warnings, Adam allows Eve to see him in secret. Learning of her plight, he realizes that he can use her to quell the rumours about him and Meta. They agree to be engaged to each other, not out of love but to mutually take advantage of each other’s circumstances. Adam sends Gammon to deliver the medicine to Eve’s mother, announcing his engagement to Eve to the public as a political marriage.

Adam then proposes both Eve and Meta as Project Ma candidates at Seth’s suggestion, along with Ly Li and Milky Eights.

.

 **Act 2 Part 2:** _Ma Survival -Survival-_

Upset at Adam’s engagement to Eve, Meta resolves to become the Mem Aleph by any means necessary. With her powerful magic, she kills Ly and Milky easily, using her Apocalypse connections to elude the blame. But Eve evades her every murder attempt, and Meta finds herself at a loss.

Intending to get Eve to lower her guard, Meta shares her past with Eve and falsely admits that she harbours some affection for her. When Eve hugs her and promises to protect her, Meta is shaken, but steels her resolve and stabs Eve in the back with a knife.

Eve then admits with her dying breath that she let Meta kill her, revealing that she fell in love with Meta back in prison, when the terrorist was the first person to show her kindness and not mock her beliefs. She expresses regret at dragging both Adam and Meta down with her, wishing that the three of them could be happy together in another life.

Both Adam and Meta independently realize that they do genuinely love Eve, beginning to resent the other for Eve’s involvement and death. Meta is crowned Queen Mem Aleph and impregnated with the God Twins, cutting off all contact with Adam.

Adam seeks help from his mother, who tells him of a revelation given to her by the Dragon Gods. If the Ark Sin is restored to working condition, he can use it to bring Eve back from death. With her permission, he oversees a secret restoration operation on the Ark that not even Seth knows about.

The Ark is fully rebuilt six months into Meta’s pregnancy. Adam then places Eve’s body into the Ark, spurred on by LeviaBehemo imitating Eve’s voice. The Ark goes out of control and explodes, decimating MKL in a Catastrophe. LeviaBehemo swaps their souls into Eve’s body, becoming the Eternal Sorceress Eve Moonlit.

.

 **Act 2 Part 3:** _Tale of Abandonment on a Moonlit Night_

After the Catastrophe, the subsequent famine in Heldogort leads to Kiril and Elluka abandoning Phobos and Deimos in the forest, remorseful that they won’t be able to keep their promise to Irina. Somehow, the moonlight allows them to recall their birth mother’s own abandonment at Kiril and Elluka’s hands, and they return to the house and kill their adoptive parents, maiming Kiril and burning Elluka in the fireplace. They both resolve to reunite with Irina somehow, someday.

* * *

 **Act 3 Part 1:** _Whereabouts of the Miracle_

“Eve” wakes up in the ruins of MKL, realizing that she’s become immortal in exchange for losing everything. Mourning Adam and Meta’s deaths, she decides to head to the heart of Held’s Forest in search of solace. Before she departs, she witnesses twin drops of light drifting down from the sky.

.

 **Act 3 Part 2:** _Recollective Musicbox_

Wandering the ruins of MKL, Adam mourns Eve and Meta’s deaths, reminiscing on the past that can never be returned to. In his hands, he clutches a small black box, something passed on to him by his mother. He recalls her saying that the box will be useful to him someday, but he wonders how it can possibly help him now. Falling into despair, he disappears.

.

 **Act 3 Part 3:** _The Song I Heard Somewhere_

Coming across Meta’s dying body, Seth takes her soul and puts it in a star-patterend teddy bear, instructing her to continue his experiments. Meta becomes the Starlit Bear Mage, promising to commit various atrocities across history to fulfill Seth’s demand. But once she learns of “Eve’s” apparent survival, she hopes that her crimes will drive “Eve” to kill her, as penance for her sins.

* * *

 **Epilogue:** _Chrono Story_

Splitting Elluka’s Original Sin into seven fragments, Phobos and Deimos transplant them into Vessels of Sin, scattering them throughout the world in hopes that they will be cleansed.

The forest god Held requests “Eve” collect the Vessels, claiming the Zvezda bloodline as his descendants and therefore bound to his will by duty. She agrees to it not out of obligation, but instead because “she has all the time in the world anyway” and wants something to do. As she departs, Held wonders what “the people who lost everything” truly wish for in their hearts.


	2. Original Sin Story —Addendum—

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Of loves, hopes, and regrets.

**Bonus Story:** _Zvezda’s Child is an Only Child_

On her deathbed, the Zvezda matriarch, Ain Zvezda, ponders the circumstances of her only child—but nowadays they’re two children.

Before, she had one daughter whom she loved dearly, Eve Zvezda, passing her shamanistic traditions and teachings onto her. When Eve departed from Heldogort to find a cure for her mother’s illness, Ain secretly accepted that she would probably die before Eve’s return, hoping that Eve would have the strength to live on without her.

Now, she has two children, Gammon Loop Octo and Raisa Netsuma. Prince Adam Moonlit had sent Gammon to deliver medicine to Ain as per Eve’s request. Gammon, seeing the potential Catastrophe brewing in MKL, convinces Raisa to come with him to Heldogort. They seek refuge with Ain, and she gladly allows them to stay, happy for some company in Eve’s absence. When Gammon tells her of his Purple Dreams, Ain rejects them, believing that Eve will return to her.

After the Catastrophe inevitably transpires, Ain is forced to accept Eve’s death. Heartbroken, she passes on her shamanistic traditions and teachings to Gammon and Raisa, hoping that the memory of her daughter will live on with them. Tormented by her regrets, she passes away.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _White Brick and Black Mourning Dress_

Bleeding out against Ly’s gravestone, Milky recalls her circumstances up to then. The two of them are no match for Meta’s wrath, caught in the path of her vengeance against Adam and Eve.

When Meta pushes Ly off the top floor of her extravagant home, her blood spatters against the white brick walls. Milky assumes that Meta will definitely be convicted of the crime, but is horrified to learn that the public consensus is that it was an accident on Ly’s part. “Her feet slipped, and she must have tripped and fell.”

Scared of her impending death, Milky visits Ly’s grave the day after her burial, donning a black mourning dress. Admitting that the two of them are way out of their depth, she doesn’t notice Meta sneaking up on her until there is a knife plunging into in her chest. Meta carelessly leaves the blade at the scene of the crime, and Milky gleefully imagines her being executed for her mistake of leaving behind irrefutable evidence.

When Pale shows up as she is slowly dying, Milky hopes that he will avenge her death. Instead, he says that he was the one to convince the public that Ly’s death was an accident, and he says that he will sway the public opinion again, planning to condemn her death as a suicide. “She stabbed herself, heart afflicted by the ugly conflict.”

Pale then leaves before she can ask him what he plans to do with their illegitimate child. As she takes her final breath, she regrets that her child will have to grow up without a mother’s love.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _Bloodstained Switch  
_

Pale reminisces on his earliest memory, driven by the desire to destroy from the moment he pressed the switch. Taking advantage of Meta’s yearning, Yegor’s ideals, and Raisa’s loyalty, he forms the terrorist organization Apocalypse, leading it as the Master of Malice.

When Yegor betrays Apocalypse and Raisa leaves for Heldogort, Pale focuses his attention on Meta. Taking pleasure in her pursuit of revenge against Adam and Eve, he agrees to help deflect the blame of her murders from being pinned on her, planning to wreak even more havoc in MKL once she becomes Queen.

But when Meta dies in the Catastrophe, Pale is forced to escape to Apocalypse’s base of operations in Merrigod Plateau. He realizes that he has no one left by his side, save for his and Milky’s child. Instead of regretting his actions, he instead basks in the calamity that he has wrought upon even himself, hoping to invite even more chaos in the years to come.

Abandoning his child at a stranger’s doorstep, he resolves to continue being the Master of Malice until the end of his life, driven by the desire to destroy from the moment he pressed the switch. The only thing he loves is destruction, nothing more, nothing less.


	3. The Lunacy of Lady Glassred

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now, shall we dance?”

**Prologue:** _Dance with Venomania_

.

Cherubim is born with a facial deformity, and as a result of that, is shunned by the rest of his family save for his younger half-brother, Sateriasis. The two of them often sneak out of the mansion to meet up with their friend and her retainer, Gumina Glassred and Carol Shields.

Gumina is betrothed to Sateriasis, but is in love with Cherubim. When she accidentally reveals that to Sateriasis, he becomes enraged, promising to kill Cherubim and keep Gumina for himself. Worried that Cherubim won’t believe her about Sateriasis’s plans, Gumina murders Sateriasis and massacres the rest of the Venomania household.

She frees Cherubim from the attic he’s locked in, but Cherubim won’t meet her eyes, terrified by her bloodlust. Realizing what she’s done, Gumina decides to kill Cherubim and then herself to free them both from the consequence of her crime, but is stopped by a sudden katana-wielding intruder with a teddy bear on their shoulder.

The stranger introduces herself as MA Shin, the Starlit Bear Mage. Offering Gumina a solution to her woes, MA pushes her to forge a contract with the Demon of Lust residing within the katana. Gumina stabs herself with the katana, gaining the power to brainwash people as well as change faces. She hypnotizes Cherubim into assuming Sateriasis’s identity, altering his face to match.

Although initially happy with the situation, Gumina realizes that the Demon’s influence is driving her to madness. Sateriasis alone is no longer enough to satisfy her growing desires. She wants another “husband”.

* * *

 **Case File #1:** _Assad_

.

Rajih Assad, Lilien Turner, and Lukana Octo are childhood friends who live in Mystica. The three of them are in a polyamorous relationship, though recently they have less and less time to meet with each other because of their work.

Leaving Mystica to sell his crops at Lasaland for the New Year’s Festival, Rajih is approached by a hooded woman hugging a teddy bear, revealed to be Gumina. Gumina tries to flirt with him, but he continuously rebuffs her advances, wishing to remain faithful to Lilien and Lukana. Gumina concedes, but requests that he escort her to the Misty Mountains as compensation. Rajih reluctantly agrees, since he’s ready to return to Mystica anyway.

After they return to Rajih’s house and Gumina leaves, Rajih is confronted by Lilien and Lukana. Lilien expresses anger at his supposed infidelity, while Lukana warns him to stay away from Gumina, having received a vision of him falling to her enchantment. Rajih consoles them both by promising to turn Gumina away if they ever meet again.

Later that week, the three of them go drinking at a bar, getting into a drinking competition with each other late into the night. Lilien wins but promptly passes out from inebriation, so Lukana decides to take her home. Rajih goes to pay the barkeep, but is told that someone else had already paid for their tab.

That person turns out to be Duke Sateriasis Venomania, who gifts Rajih a small painting of a flower for his service to the nation as a farmer, having seen him peddle his wares in Lasaland. Flabbergasted, Rajih quickly returns home and gazes at the painting, taken in by its beauty. He recalls Gumina talking about her painting hobby in her attempts to flirt with him, surmising that the gift must be from her. Something takes hold of his mind.

The very next day, Lilien shows up at Rajih’s house, worried for him, only to find that he’s already gone missing. Distraught, she rushes to meet with Lukana, who frets that her Purple Dream may have already come true.

* * *

 **Case File #2:** _Calgaround_

.

In the village of Abito, Earl Gilbert Calgaround accompanies his wife Mikulia as she visits her family. Mikulia wants to harvest some of the flowers native to Abito and plant them in Calgaround, which Gilbert readily agrees to. He contemplates his wife’s eccentric nature, childishly naïve yet constantly surprising him with good ideas, which is one of the reasons he fell in love with her in the first place.

When Mikulia returns, she finds Gilbert talking to a pretty man with a teddy bear on his shoulder, which she finds cute and endearing. The man reveals himself as Duke Venomania, making his rounds in Asmodean as is customary of his station. He compliments Mikulia’s choice of flowers, saying that his fiancée would no doubt like to use them as a subject of one of her paintings.

Gilbert and Mikulia agree to come over to his mansion in Lasaland. There, the two of them pose together as Gumina paints their portrait, giving the flowers in particular a lot of detail. Mikulia is very happy with the end result, excited to hang it up in Calgaround’s royal library. Gilbert barely pays her any attention, concentrated on the flowers in the painting.

When the time comes for them to return to Calgaround, Gilbert informs Mikulia that he has some unfinished business to take care of. Duke Venomania offers to chaperone her back to Calgaround, which Mikulia cheerfully accepts, delighted at the chance to explain some of her ideas to him in hopes that he will consider and implement them.

Once he drops her off at her home, Mikulia eagerly waits for Gilbert’s return. Days pass by, but he never comes back.

* * *

 **Case File #3:** _Truth_

.

The former guard of the Venomania household, Witnis Truth wakes to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Confused at the prospect of a visitor at a late hour, he opens the door to be met with his ex-wife, Annlee Sweets. The two of them exchange greetings before Witnis invites Annlee inside, noticing her strange behavior.

Though they separated soon after they were married due to the stress of Annlee’s job as a doctor, they remained civil towards and in contact with each other, with Annlee often helping Witnis through the times he couldn’t find a job. Annlee asks him if he remembers the child he was once employed to look after, and Witnis replies in the affirmative, having grown to see the boy as his own child.

When Annlee asks if he knows what had happened to Cherubim, Witnis sadly speculates that he was probably killed in the massacre of the Venomania household, leaving Sateriasis as the only survivor. Annlee casts her doubts on the veracity of that statement, believing that Cherubim had murdered his half-brother and assumed his identity.

Incredulous, but also knowing that his ex-wife isn’t one to tell lies, Witnis decides to investigate, with Annlee following along. While the Duke receives Witnis in the audience hall, Annlee snoops around the mansion, eventually going down to the basement. There, she finds numerous men living in the rooms, some of whom she recognizes as her former patients.

And in the room at the far end of the dungeons, Annlee comes across Gumina, painting a picture of a flower. Gumina says that she’s been expecting her, given that MA had sensed a person with high magic potential approaching the mansion. Confused, Annlee says that she knows nothing about magic, and Gumina corrects herself, referring to the other soul hiding within Annlee’s body.

MA ambushes Annlee, knocking her out, before drawing the other soul into a clockwork doll she had found in the ruins of MKL. Witnis barges into the room, having heard his wife’s scream, but is immediately charmed into compliance by Gumina’s brainwashing, becoming yet another “husband” in her harem.

They drop the unconscious Annlee off at her house, all her memories of the past few hours erased from her mind. MA worries over all the close calls they’ve been having, but Gumina brushes her off, confident that nothing can stand in her way of her Utopia coming to completion.

* * *

 **Case File #4:** _Crim_

.

Sharing affections with both Yufina and Martius, Karchess follows along on their visit to the Marlon King’s home country. He takes the opportunity to investigate the strange cases of disappearing men in Asmodean at his friend Tae’s request. Parting ways with Yufina and Martius, he promises to make a safe return.

Starting his search in Mystica, Karchess interrogates the women who’ve lost their husbands, sons and friends, and finds one common point: they’ve all been visited by Duke Venomania in the days prior. Not only that, he gains a specific lead when he finds Lukana, the tailor recounting the vision she received which had come true.

Gathering evidence to build his case, he becomes aware that he’s being watched, possibly by an entire network of spies. He consults with Tae about it via letter, relieved to learn that it’s probably Princess Maylis’s underlings looking out for him. Still, becoming paranoid, he entrusts all the information he’s assembled to Tae, asking the spy Neruneru Nerune to deliver it to him should Karchess ever vanish.

On the way back to Rucolebeni, the carriage Karchess is in is assaulted by a strange winged goat creature. He manages to put up a good fight, his love for Yufina and Martius fueling him. The creature is impressed by his determination, but claims that he will fall prey to it anyway, its eyes flaring a dark green.

Before it manages to fully brainwash Karchess, the soldier Tette Cetera engages it in combat. Distracted by having to split its attention between Karchess and Tette, the creature seizes Karchess and takes to the sky, intending to complete its enchantment later. Tette manages to cut off a lock of the creature’s hair before it flies away. It is green in colour.

* * *

 **Case File #5:** _Conchita_

.

Baron Tae Conchita receives Karchess’s collection of evidence from Neruneru, along with the lock of green hair from Tette. Putting two and two together, he deduces that the Duke’s fiancée, not the Duke himself, might be the perpetrator of the kidnappings. But he cannot simply accuse Gumina of the crime, since all the witness testimonies only confirm Duke Venomania’s involvement.

At a loss, he orders Maylis’s spies to search the victims’ homes, gaining another lead when they report to him the common point of the flower paintings. Careful to avoid looking at them himself, his wife describes them to him in detail. There’s no signature on any of them, but perhaps if they manage to retrieve one of Gumina’s paintings, it can be used as a point of reference. And if enough similarities are found between all of them, a case can be made to warrant for Gumina’s arrest.

That night, however, Duke Venomania confronts him, showing up on Tae’s balcony. He reveals that he knows about Tae’s inability to sire a child with his wife, mocking that the Conchita bloodline will end with him. Tae understands the implicit threat being made, but he’s already accepted that fact. Changing tactics, he offers to give Tae what he wants, a child. All he has to do is let Venomania lay with his wife and let Gumina share her bed with Tae for the night, but his offer is soundly rejected.

A voice calls Venomania out on his incompetence. Gumina swoops down from where she’s perched on the roof of Tae’s mansion, amiably greeting the baron with a smile. She expresses disappointment at Venomania’s first failure in helping her with her schemes, but declares him her favourite beloved “husband” anyway. Tae puts up a struggle when she tries to brainwash him, but panics when he hears his wife scream, realizing that Venomania intends to take advantage of her.

His momentary lapse in attention costs him, and he is inducted as the latest of Gumina’s “husbands”. Gumina decides to reward Venomania by hypnotizing Tae’s wife as well, allowing him to have his way with her. Unbeknownst to them both, Maylis watches the whole thing happen from behind the almost-closed bedroom door.

* * *

 **Case File #6:** _Glassred_

.

Relating her discovery to Martius and Yufina, Maylis complains that she now doesn’t have anyone else to work with for the investigation. Martius says that he’s contacted the sorceress Eve Moonlit, and that she will arrive in a few days. Maylis argues with him about the existence of magic, while Yufina remains silent.

The Marlon Queen then interrupts the Beelzenian siblings’ squabbling by revealing that she’s been formulating a plan ever since Karchess’s disappearance. Since Gumina’s lust enchantment only works on men, why not have a woman masquerade as a man and infiltrate the Venomania mansion?

Someone speaks up. It is Carol Shields, who ran away from Gumina after realizing the monster she’s become and found work as one of Maylis’s spies. Carol is sad that Gumina seems to have forgotten about her, but resolves to put Gumina down, reasoning that she at least deserves to be defeated by someone she once thought of as a close friend. She offers herself to be the one to kill Gumina.

With Martius, Yufina, and Maylis’s help, Carol manages to disguise herself as a handsome young man. Before she leaves, Yufina gives her a golden key pendant, claiming that the Marlon royal heirloom will protect her, and begging her to save Karchess and prevent Martius from becoming another victim.

Emboldened by the Queen’s plea, she makes her way to the Venomania mansion and is invited inside by the Duke, who leads her to the basement where Gumina waits. Along the way, a voice whispers in her ears, directing her to give everything over to her anger at the Demon of Lust who drove Gumina to madness. The golden key transforms into a knife in her hands, feeding on her wrath.

Once she’s close enough to Gumina, Carol stabs her in the chest with the knife, crying as she does so. The men are immediately freed from Gumina’s brainwashing, fleeing from the mansion, and Sateriasis regains his original identity and appearance as Cherubim. The last ones to leave are him and Carol, the both of them sparing Gumina a mournful glance before making their escape.

Gumina reaches out to them, but cannot find her breath to admit that she truly loves them. Abandoned by everyone, even the Demon of Lust in the end, she finds it ironic that she was killed by the one person she didn’t expect to be killed by, much like her and Sateriasis. Gumina dies with a smile on her face, making peace with the fact that this is her just punishment.


	4. The Lunacy of Lady Glassred ―Addendum―

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If only you hadn’t forgotten.”

**Counterpart Song:** _The Portrait Shields Drew_

.

A few months after everything surrounding the Glassred Event has died down, Cherubim visits Carol at her home. She’s in the middle of painting a portrait of Sateriasis, and Cherubim compliments her steadily improving skill. Carol asks if Cherubim feels any resentment towards Sateriasis, but he cannot bring himself to reply. She smiles, claiming that she’s the same.

Carol invites Cherubim to join her, hoping that the act of painting will be enough to heal the scars left on their hearts. Cherubim accepts, idly wondering how much time he has left before he is convicted of defiling multiple women under Gumina’s influence, then pondering how many potential bastard children he’s sired.

Leaning against Cherubim, Carol tells him that she’ll be sad once he’s gone, and that she’ll be truly alone then. She doesn’t want to forget any of them, like how Gumina forgot her once she had brainwashed Cherubim into becoming her “husband”. Cherubim kisses her, promising that he’ll never forget her, and that he’ll spend the rest of his numbered days by her side.

Behind them, a half-finished portrait hangs on the wall, covered by a cloth. It is the most beautifully detailed painting among all the paintings in the room, despite—or maybe because of—its incompletion.

* * *

**Case File #0:** _The Notes of a Certain Sorceress_

.

Eve Moonlit, drinking rose tea with Maylis, ponders the recent developments. Contacted by Martius to help with the case of the kidnappings, she unfortunately arrived a day too late, and Lady Gumina had already met her death at Carol’s hand. While she gathers her thoughts, Maylis catches her up on the timeline of events.

The Donald family is replacing the Venomanias as the Dukes of Asmodean. Rajih, along with Lilien and Lukana, are planning to leave Mystica—no, Asmodean entirely. Baron Conchita decides to keep his wife’s child, despite knowing that he isn’t the father. The Beelzenian imperial family are considering hiring Eve as their court mage, despite their general distrust of magic, to have her on hand for potential future troubles. King Martius is stepping down and abdicating the throne of Marlon to Karchess, becoming his and Queen Yufina’s chancellor instead.

Truly, the consequences of Gumina’s actions have greatly affected the two nations.

And as for Carol… after Cherubim’s trial and execution for being complicit in Gumina’s crimes, the former attendant had fled from Asmodean, no longer having any remaining connections there and unable to handle being hailed as a hero for killing the person she loved.

Eve wonders where she could have possibly gone to, and Maylis hypothesizes that Carol most likely wouldn’t be heading for Elphegort, as being there would only remind her of Gumina. The other territories of Beelzenia and the country of Marlon are also unlikely choices, while the Magic Kingdom Levianta is still in ruins. Perhaps she has left the region of Evillious entirely, gone east to Akuna or even further.

With Gumina dead, Cherubim executed, and Carol missing, the truth is lost to the darkness.

In any case, Eve’s failed to obtain either of the Vessels involved in the scandal. The eastern-style sword that drove Gumina to madness, as well as the golden key that Carol used to kill her. Without any leads to follow, she decides to accept the offer to become Beelzenia’s court mage, hoping that the position would be advantageous to her hunt for the Vessels.

.

Within the remains of the former Magic Kingdom Levianta, the last relic of the LeviaBehemo temple stands, most of it reduced to ruins.

Staring up at the full moon, MA ponders the recent developments. After Gumina’s death, she had released her medium, Haru Netsuma, allowing the young girl to reunite with her older sister Hakua. Learning that Witnis had died from being weakened by Gumina’s enchantment, MA decided to take Annlee as her next body.

In any case, she’s managed to obtain many things.

First, a new Vessel of Deadly Sin. The slothful demon now residing within it requests that she name it the “Clockworker’s Doll”, and MA sees no reason to disagree. She knows somewhat of the events surrounding the first two Project Ma iterations, questioning if the demon has any relation to that, but gets no answer.

Next, the continuation of her experiments. Though Gumina didn’t manage to bear any children before her death, the brainwashed Cherubim had likely sired at least a few children with other women. He wasn’t born a HER, so she doesn’t know if his progeny would carry it in their genes. Despite that, MA believes that they will come to spread a new “malice” anyway.

There is also the opportunity to obtain Lukana’s body, but she can’t bring herself to do it. Even taking advantage of Haru’s naiveté had left a sour taste in her mouth. The demon in the doll laughs at her inner conflict, claiming that they both no longer have the right to call themselves human and that the mage should simply give everything over to her true nature as a HER; MA simply ignores its taunts.

Besides that, she’s gained a very important piece of information: the existence of a sorceress going by the name of Eve Moonlit. MA doesn’t want to get her hopes up, but she understands that if the sorceress is truly Eve, then the two of them will likely meet as enemies someday. And deep in her heart, MA hopes that when the time comes, Eve will be able to kill her.

Lastly…

Holding the katana up at eye level, MA watches as the moonlight glints off its blade. Glowing with a faint deep green aura, the Demon of Lust has already returned to reside within it, its contract with Gumina over. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, MA realizes that she has yet to give the Vessel a name.

“—It might be in poor taste, but I’ll bequeath it your name. Something to remember you by. Rest in peace, Lady Gumina.”

She decides to give the katana the name of “Glass Sword”.

* * *

**Case File #X:** _Octo_

In the distant future, a time when Gumina’s name is no longer spoken of anywhere but in history books and fairytales, a young woman is just returning from work, eager to get home. But right after she closes the door to the foyer, the doorbell rings.

Irritated, she slams the door open. Standing there is a young man, who apologizes for bothering her at such a late hour. The woman recognizes him as Second Lieutenant Nyoze Octo, asserting that she has no intention of speaking with him.

Nyoze begs for her to reconsider her verdict, insisting that his younger brother Gammon isn’t the murderer. She mocks him for doubting the judgement of USE Dark Star Bureau’s newly-appointed director, Michelle Marlon, telling him that she can just as easily throw him in jail as well.

Nyoze then asks her to at least return his family’s heirloom, the katana, but Michelle rebuffs his plea, reminding him that all weapons used in a crime are seized by the state, as is law. Dejected, Nyoze leaves.

Michelle goes further into her house and opens another door, one that leads to a small, dark room. Sitting on the bed, a young green-haired woman greets her, saying that she and her mother have missed her. Michelle’s sour mood lifts slightly, and she tells the woman, Nemesis, to join her for dinner later. Nemesis, perking up, leaves the room to start preparing the meal.

Michelle then eyes the other “person” in the room—Nemesis’s “mother”. Glaring at her, Michelle pulls a katana out from the storage chest next to the bed, making sure that it really is the “Glass Sword”. Satisfied, she replaces it back in the box.

A pale green gleam catches her attention. On the bedside table lies a small spoon. Michelle muses that Nemesis must have accidentally left it there, but she’ll surely come back to get it. That’s because Nemesis claims that it’s the only thing that will allow her to hear her “mother’s” voice.

Soon enough, just as she expects, Nemesis returns to the room, having finished cooking. She tells Michelle that she wants to spend a few minutes with her mother first, urging Michelle to go ahead and start eating without her. Reluctantly, Michelle leaves the room, closing the door behind her. But instead of immediately going to the dining room, she instead leans against the door, straining her ears to listen in.

“Michelle’s home, Mama.”

“Yeah, I missed her too.”

“…I see—but I’m sure that she’s not actually angry with you…”

“I’m sure Michelle will find more of your friends for you, Mama. She’ll definitely find them all. Just be a little bit more patient…”

Michelle thinks that Nemesis sounds terribly lonely as she converses with her “mother”. She seems to be enjoying the conversation, but her voice is the only voice audible from the room.

_Poor Nemesis,_ Michelle thinks. _Playing with dolls like this… she must’ve been abandoned by her mother when she was a child._

.

Even though time has passed, and the people living in the world have changed—

HERs continue to exist.

The Vessels of Deadly Sin continue to exist.

Will this karma of evil ever come to an end?


	5. Letters from a Certain Sorceress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Yours forever,_

** Letters from a Certain Sorceress **

.

Dear Eve,

So. You’re alive. Just like I am.

How ironic of the gods to be so cruel yet so kind.

I probably won’t send this letter. Even if I did, it’s not likely to ever reach you.

But maybe I’ll keep writing them, for my own sake.

Yours,

Meta Salmhofer

.

Dear Eve,

So, I hear you’ve been going around as “the Eternal Sorceress” nowadays. What a kitschy name. But you’ve always liked that kind of thing, haven’t you?

I don’t actually know that. I never even really looked your way, until I ~~killed y~~

It’s best if I don’t finish that thought. You are alive, after all. Just like me.

In any case, you’re going around helping people, and I’m going around hurting people. Just like the old days, right? I wonder what Adam thinks of us. Heh. I hope he’s getting a laugh out of this, up there in the Heavenly Yard.

I sure am.

Yours,

Meta S

.

Dear Eve,

I just realized something.

If we ever meet, we’ll most likely meet as enemies.

If possible, I want you to kill me. End me. Take me out of my misery.

It’s only fair.

I’ll be waiting for your response.

Yours,

MS

.

Dear Eve,

You didn’t even do anything to stop me. Are you that stupid? Sure, I’ve been using aliases and fake names and changing bodies every century or so, but come on!

You keep showing up only after everything has already ended.

I’m starting to think you don’t even know I exist. And maybe you don’t? Wouldn’t that be funny.

Maybe I’ll show myself, just to spare us both the trouble.

But not yet. I won’t reveal myself to you just yet.

We both have all the time in the world, anyway.

Yours,

M

.

Dear Eve,

Have you finally realized who I am? Hahaha. You’ve always been somewhat slow, huh. Not to mention lazy.

I hope you like that ziz tiama I sent over. Prim said that you taught her before, and that you liked the creepy little thing. I can’t imagine why. It looks so ghastly, with its eight squirming legs and all.

In any case, it looks like we’ll finally be able to meet face to face, soon.

I hope you’re ready.

To kill, or to be killed.

Because I’ve decided that maybe I want to stay alive, just a little longer.

Regards,

MA

.

To whom it may concern,

Come meet me for a duel.

Merrigod Plateau.

I’ll be waiting.

Mem Aleph

.

_To my beloved,_

_So that wasn’t you after all._

_I’ve been chasing after an impostor, all this time._

_Hahaha. Serves me right._

_You must be laughing at me with Adam up there, huh?_

_That’s okay. It’s what I deserve._

_In any case, I’ll go and meet you both._

_Whether it be after the duel, or in a thousand years…_

_I hope you’ll keep waiting for me._

_Yours forever,_

_Meta Salmhofer_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> final chapter i can get in before the novel inevitably shatters me into pieces TvT --H
> 
> See you all in the next year! --S


	6. The Twin Evil Food Eaters, Arte and Pollo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Now, eat without leaving anything.”

**Aperitif** — _Blood Grave_

.

The “Graveyard” Restaurant.

A gloomy maître d' greets two customers, one of whom he comments looks very familiar. The other patron waves him off, asking impatiently for the menu. The restaurant doesn’t have a menu, instead the dishes are made based on a variety of factors. But he does allow them a choice of aperitif; they choose the “Blood Grave”.

When pressed about it, the maître d' confesses that he finds the legend behind the alcohol’s creation intriguing, describing how it differs from “Old Blood Grave” made during the era of Beelzenia’s decline. Apparently, Old Blood Grave tastes almost like actual blood, and the current formula for Blood Grave is very watered down and subdued compared to the original.

The younger patron expresses interest in the legend. The maître d' says that he will gladly recount the story as the two customers enjoy their meal.

So begins the narration of the beginning.

—The start of the Twin Evil Food Eaters, Arte and Pollo.

* * *

 **Hors D’oeuvre** — _Tasan Pig Blood Pudding_

.

The appetizer is “black pudding of Tasan pig blood”.

The maître d' explains a bit of the Tasan pig’s history and rarity, as well as how commonplace black pudding was as cuisine native to the southern region of Bolganio, 700 years ago. Notably, the breed known as the “Baemu”, which was thought to be the cause of the Tasan Empire’s fall.

But there were others who ate the Baemu. A pair of twins from Elphegort in particular.

As orphans, they live a miserable life, forced to scavenge for scraps and eat whatever they can find, even things other people would consider inedible. One day, they manage to catch a strange creature they’ve never seen before: a red pig with antlers. Killing it and tearing it apart, they eat the flesh raw, particularly enjoying the taste of the blood.

While they’re enjoying their “feast”, a passing sorceress comes across them. She asks for their names, but they claim that they’ve long forgotten them. The sorceress then decides to name them herself, calling the girl “Artemis” and the boy “Apollon”, or Arte and Pollo for short. They bicker about it for a bit, before deciding to accept their new names, since trying to recall their old names would inevitably dredge up painful memories.

The sorceress, revealing herself as “Mary-Ann”, tells them that she wants to take them as her apprentices, to help her on her quest. The twins gratefully share some of the pig’s flesh with her (she cooks it with a mysterious powder that ignites into fire) before finding a wineglass in the pig’s stomach.

Surprised, Mary-Ann takes the wineglass, staring at it for a bit before giving it back to the twins. After finishing their meal, she brings them to the town of Gasto in the Conchita territory of Beelzenia. Leaving them at the marketplace, she tells Artemis and Apollon to stay there while she takes care of something else.

Left alone, the twins browse the stalls, growing hungry. When night falls and Mary-Ann hasn’t returned, they fear that they’ve been abandoned again. When Pollo cries because of his overwhelming hunger, Arte tries to steal a loaf of bread, but is caught by the baker.

Angry, the baker berates her, but is stopped short of punishing her when a young woman enters his shop, Pollo trailing behind her.

It’s the reigning duke-to-be of the region, Banica Conchita.

* * *

 **Soup** — _Graveyard Fruit Borscht_

.

The soup is “borscht made with Graveyard Fruit”.

The maître d’ explains the meaning behind the Graveyard Fruit’s name, it being a fruit akin to an apple but redder, often found in or near graveyards. Furthermore, the Graveyard Fruit can only be found in the countries of Levianta and Marlon. Despite numerous studies, nobody knows why this is.

The older patron interrupts him, telling him she already knows all this because she’s a native of Levianta, prompting him to continue with the story. Acquiescing, he recites the history between Beelzenia and Marlon, and how a marriage between Banica Conchita and third prince Carlos Marlon was meant to strengthen the ties between the two nations.

Banica and Carlos bond over their unhappy childhoods. Both Banica’s mother Megour and Carlos’s father Charon are strict parents, but while Banica became timid, Carlos instead became rebellious. They both find solace in each other and have no objections to their arranged marriage, resolving to travel the world together afterwards.

Arte and Pollo, now working as Banica’s servants, are less than happy about that. During Banica’s stay in Marlon, they both try their best to irritate Carlos into breaking off the engagement. All their schemes backfire since Banica’s always there to save Carlos, so they’re forced to admit defeat, frustrated that they’ll have to “share” Banica with Carlos.

To distract themselves from their predicament, the twins go wandering around Marlon during the periods of time they’re meant to chaperone Banica and Carlos on their outings. One day, they find themselves in the warzone between Marlon and Lioness, in the middle of a makeshift mass grave filled with the corpses of dead soldiers.

Pollo comes across a strange tree bearing ripe red fruits. He and Arte pick one and bite into it, finding it burningly sweet, the juice dripping from their lips. They pick a few more fruits before returning to the castle, where they’re immediately conscripted into the kitchen staff for that night’s dinner party.

While the rest of the cooks are busy, Arte and Pollo secretly make their own dish using the fruits they picked earlier. They manage to hide the soup from the rest of the staff and only bring it out when the dinner party is in full swing, with all the attendees seated in the banquet hall.

Horrified, Banica, Muzuri, Megour, Empress Juno, and all the Marlon royals can only watch in silence as the twins serve the blood-red borscht, laughing all the while. Banica and Carlos try to defuse the situation by eating their portions, but they both gag at the cloying taste, unable to even swallow it.

With wide grins, Arte and Pollo say that if nobody wants to eat their soup, then they’ll finish it by themselves, messily drinking the rest of the untouched bowls of borscht and staining the entire dinner table red in their frenzy.

Banica and Carlos’s engagement is called off.

* * *

 **Poisson** — _Ziz Tiama and Ink Tagliatelle_

.

The fish entrée is “pasta made of ziz tiama ink served with sautéed ziz tiama”.

The maître d’ recounts the tale of Leviantan sorcerers using ziz tiama as spell components in olden times, and how it being a current mainstay in modern Levianta might be because of that.

The younger patron cuts him off, squeamish over the dish. After explaining that she once had a pet ziz tiama (though she doesn’t know what’s happened to it after she left her home at her mother’s suggestion), she receives a different dish instead. The older patron, having no such hesitation, eagerly digs into the pasta, recalling seeing a ziz tiama in the sea as she was returning home on the Titanis.

Continuing his story, the maître d’ describes how Banica imported ziz tiama from Marlon to improve Beelzenia’s food culture.

With her engagement broken off, Banica becomes engrossed with food, and at 19 years of age begins touring various countries with her head retainer Ron, unwilling to take Arte and Pollo with her after their outburst caused her betrothal with Carlos to dissolve.

There were many other things that made her upset with them. Empress Juno had taken away Muzuri’s rulership of the Conchita territory as punishment, and Megour had committed suicide out of shame. Banica now only has her father left, but he’s too sick from stress to accompany her, so she reluctantly leaves him in the care of Arte and Pollo.

Once she returns, Banica quickly arranges a meeting with Empress Juno without checking up on her father or her twin retainers. Confused, Arte and Pollo argue about who’s to blame for Banica abandoning them, before Muzuri gently explains that his daughter’s probably still in shock from losing so much in such a short time.

But the fact that she still hasn’t fired them, means that she still feels attached to them in some way. Perhaps because they had been in her service for so long, or maybe because she sees them as friends. Touched, Arte and Pollo grow close to Muzuri, looking up to him as though he’s their surrogate father, and start thinking of Banica as their big sister.

Once word spreads of Banica’s achievements, the three of them decide to celebrate her efforts with a surprise banquet, inviting the other lords and dukes to attend. Banica gets emotional, reconciling with Muzuri, Arte and Pollo, and they enjoy the party late into the night.

But as midnight comes, tragedy strikes once again. After all the guests leave, Ron finds Muzuri dead in the storeroom, a knife stabbed into his stomach and a message in a bottle clutched in his hands. Arte and Pollo panic as they realize their wineglass is missing, but ignore their dread to console the distraught Banica, promising to never leave her behind. Ron retrieves the letter from the glass bottle.

It’s signed by “the Phantom Thief, Philautia”.

* * *

 **Sorbet** — _Plateau Flower Sherbet_

.

The palate cleanser is “cold sherbet with flower nectar syrup”.

The maître d’ details the history of Merrigod Plateau, and how legend goes that Lord Calgaround’s wife Mikulia sheltered Carol Shields before the hero went on to become Elphegort’s first prime minister. There are also rumours of the wandering sorceress Eve Moonlit supposedly being Mikulia herself, with “Eve Moonlit” acting as a title passed down through a certain lineage of mages, though records of her existence started to dwindle beyond the EC500s.

The younger patron mentions that her mother is writing a screenplay about Eve Moonlit, and that she wants the older patron to star as the titular sorceress. Surprised and more than a little suspicious, the older patron reluctantly agrees to consider it, before asking the maître d’ to continue his story.

After Muzuri’s death, Arte and Pollo become extremely protective of Banica, refusing to let her out of their sight and accompanying her on all her excursions. And as Banica becomes obsessed with learning about new foods, the twins become obsessed with eating all the new foods, to the point that their appetites far surpass Banica’s own. Binging becomes a comfort to them, to smother their fear of being abandoned.

Worried for their health, Banica uses her connections with the information-gathering Association to get in contact with the sorceress Eve Moonlit. When the mage arrives at the mansion, she expresses faint surprise at Banica’s appearance, but brushes it off as a distant memory.

Eve’s maid suddenly loses it when she sees Arte and Pollo, screaming at them to get away from her. The twins are bewildered until Eve calls out her maid’s name, Philautia, and then they fly into a rage as they realize she’s Muzuri’s killer and the one who stole their wineglass.

The two of them threaten to shove her into the fireplace, Banica and Ron barely holding them back. In their fury, they kill Ron and yell abuse at Banica, causing her to relive the trauma of being punished by Megour.

Alarmed, Eve doses them with a non-lethal amount of Gift, just enough to knock them out. Putting them to bed, she tells Banica that there’s something very wrong with them, and that she’ll need some time to figure out how to deal with them. Before leaving, Philautia sneaks into the twins’ bedroom and leaves the wineglass on their table, not wanting to risk their wrath.

In their drugged sleep, Arte and Pollo meet with the Demon of Gluttony. They argue back and forth about the demon’s influence as well as Mary-Ann’s intentions, leaving the wineglass to them, before discussing what Banica will do with them after this. After all the misfortune they’ve brought into her life, perhaps she’ll finally abandon them like everyone else, to pursue her dream of becoming a noble gourmand.

“Once everyone leaves you behind, won’t you go hungry again like you did in the forest?”

The Demon gives them an ultimatum. The only answer is to eat everything in the world.

They wake up and see the wineglass, filled with a red liquid with a metallic smell. The blood of the Baemu—or perhaps the blood of the Demon.

Arte and Pollo pick the wineglass up and drink from it, finding it burningly sweet, the blood dripping from their lips.

* * *

 **Viande** — _Steak of XXXX_

.

The main course is “special steak made of a top-secret ingredient”.

This time, the maître d’ doesn’t bother explaining the dish, instead launching directly into the story of how the “Twin Servants” ultimately become the “Twin Evil Food Eaters”.

Having to deal with Arte and Pollo’s increasingly bizarre appetites, Banica hires a new cook, Josef Crim, after the previous one leaves in disgust. Unbeknownst to the three of them, the nomad chef is actually Carlos in disguise, sent by Mary-Ann to infiltrate the mansion and retrieve the wineglass.

But he gets no opportunity to carry out his mission. Banica, returning to her meek demeanor as Arte and Pollo become more and more overbearing and possessive, doesn’t have the heart to go against them. Even when Carlos reveals his deception and begs her to run away with him, she says that she can’t leave the twin retainers behind, seeing as they’re her only friends.

Carlos sends a letter to Empress Juno, explaining their situation. She sends a platoon of soldiers to rescue Banica, but Arte and Pollo raise an army of dead soldiers in retaliation, declaring that they will protect their “big sister” in return for the kindness she showed them all those years ago.

One night, after Banica and Carlos drink away their anxieties, they sleep together. It soon becomes apparent that Banica has become pregnant with Carlos’s child. Though initially hostile towards him, Arte and Pollo accept Carlos as their “family” and eagerly await the birth of the baby.

A week before her child is born, Banica comes to her senses and realizes that staying with Arte and Pollo won’t be safe for her child. She hatches a plan with Carlos to poison them, using the vial of the extremely venomous shavings of the golden key that Carlos uses as medicine.

When they sit down to have dinner, celebrating the birth of Banica’s son, Carlos serves the twins steak spiced with the golden powder. Arte and Pollo succumb to the poison, but immediately recover. They’re furious at Carlos for tricking them, but Banica comes to his rescue, tearfully explaining that she can’t stay with them anymore, with how monstrous they’ve become.

Realizing how much grief they’ve given her, Arte and Pollo let Banica and Carlos go. But as payment, they want one final meal. Carlos agrees to give up the last of his medicine, saying that he’ll gladly spend his final days travelling the world with Banica like they once promised.

As the two of them leave the mansion, the twins wave them goodbye, tears falling. Once again, they’ve been abandoned.

But this time, it’s what they deserve.

* * *

 **Dessert** — _Combo Platter of Varied Desserts_

.

Lastly, the dessert is “a variety of fruits containing both the bitter and the sweet”.

The maître d’ thanks the two customers for eating at the “Graveyard”, and for listening to the tale that is quickly coming to a close.

Empress Juno arranges a meeting with the sorceress Eve Moonlit, and is surprised to see the Phantom Thief Philautia serving as her maid. Perplexed by Eve’s claims of “employing” Philautia simply on a whim, Juno asks them about Banica and Carlos. Eve recalls her encounter with Banica’s twin retainers; she still hasn’t quite figured out a cure for their gluttony, nor the reason for the twisted magic she felt around them.

Someone suddenly barges into the audience hall. It’s Banica, cradling her baby son. She’s come to unveil the truth after spending a year travelling the world with Carlos, and now that he’s passed away, she has no one else to claim as family except the Empress, who once took care of her while her parents were busy with work.

She describes how she first came across Arte and Pollo, pitying their orphaned state and employing them as her retainers. She noticed how they seemed attached to the only thing they had with them at the time, a wineglass, but brushed it off as a childish quirk. But as the years passed and they never seemed to age, she grew suspicious of them, yet couldn’t bring herself to leave them behind.

It came to a head when she became pregnant with Carlos’s child, however, and she realized she had to escape their clutches. Still, she wonders if she made the right decision, regretting that she couldn’t help Arte and Pollo in some way.

Juno commends her for her generosity, agreeing to shelter her and her child in the palace and to give her work as one of the palace staff. At Banica’s request, the Empress asks Eve to return to the mansion to see what happened to the twins, and she reluctantly agrees, dragging Philautia along.

Back at the mansion, Arte and Pollo gaze out onto the fields of Trauben and the winery established by Banica. They express pride at their “big sister’s” achievements, hoping that she’ll find happiness wherever she is now. Beyond the winery spreads the rest of the world. North, south, east, west. All kinds of places, all kinds of people, and also all kinds of food.

They’ve always had a twisted relationship with food. They remember starving in the forest, being abandoned by their parents because of famine. The instinctual desire to survive led them to eat all sorts of inedible things. People can’t live without eating. But nothing they ate satisfied them.

Perhaps they’ve been warped by that.

—And right now, there’s nothing left to eat.

They’ve eaten all the food in the mansion. They’ve eaten all the livestock. They’ve eaten all the dead soldiers. They’ve eaten the golden powder. The only thing they haven’t eaten is Banica and Carlos, and that’s because those two are long gone.

For some reason, they can no longer summon the power of the wineglass. They can’t revive any more corpses to eat. And they’ve been abandoned, so they can’t rely on anyone to feed them.

There’s nothing left to eat.

The Demon taunts them for their stupidity and softheartedness, claiming that they should simply abandon what’s left of their humanity and descend upon the town at the foot of the mountain to feast on the people. Arte and Pollo retort that they’ve lost their humanity a long time ago. Maybe they weren’t even humans in the first place.

The Demon’s tone sharpens, berating them and telling them to leave the mansion and eat something, or otherwise they will die. They refuse, wanting to confine themselves within the mansion. Not to protect themselves, but to protect the world from them.

The Demon loses its patience, calling them by their real names of Phobos and Deimos, insisting that the only answer is to eat without leaving anything. There’s nothing left to eat that will satisfy them.

—No, that’s wrong. There’s still something they haven’t eaten. Something that might be able to truly sate their hunger.

Arte and Pollo smile at each other. Even after all this time, they still have each other. They haven’t abandoned each other, nor have they been abandoned by each other. They’ve never been apart, and after this, they’ll never be apart.

“We are going to eat.”

“Each other.”

“Along with you, hm?”

“Well then—”

And so, they share one final meal of “evil food”.

.

When Eve and Philautia storm the mansion, they find nobody and nothing left.

Nothing but the wineglass, stained red with blood.

* * *

 **Digestif** — _Lunar Amazake_

.

Finishing the story, the maître d’ asks the patrons to pay the bill, but is shocked when the older patron reveals herself as Michelle Marlon, director of the Dark Star Bureau, and that she knows his true identity as Gammon Octo. She arrests him for trying to escape conviction as well as being in possession of illegal items: a bloodstained wineglass and a pair of hand mirrors.

Gammon asks how she managed to find him. The younger patron speaks up, revealing herself as Nemesis Sudou, expressing sadness that Gammon seems to have forgotten her. But she hasn’t forgotten him, and though she doesn’t really want to capture her childhood friend, it’s the only way to achieve her mother’s ambitions.

As Gammon is dragged away to prison, he screams that he doesn’t know anything. He’s just the Waiter.

Far above, the full moon shines bright in the night sky.


	7. The Twin Evil Food Eaters —Addendum—

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “If only we had run away.”

**Counterpart Song:** _Drug of Gold_

.

As she feeds her son with milk from a glass bottle, Banica reminisces on her past. Before Arte and Pollo had entered her life, she’d been a meek child, always enduring her mother’s harsh expectations. Her twin servants had instilled a sense of confidence in her, and that courage grew when she met with Carlos. In a way, the three of them became her family.

She wonders when exactly the gears of fate started to spin wildly out of control. Perhaps it started with Muzuri’s death. Or earlier, when she was betrothed to Carlos. Maybe even further back than that, when she found Arte and Pollo in the first place.

Now, the only family she has left is Empress Juno, and her own child.

Carlos had given up the golden powder that acted as his medicine in return for Arte and Pollo letting him and Banica go. Without it, he became more and more ill. Banica had wanted to find a cure for Carlos’s illness, but he decided against it. He didn’t want her to regret that they didn’t spend more time together, if they couldn’t find a cure in the end.

Banica doesn’t resent him for dying, instead thanking him for staying by her side until the moment of his death.

She wonders if there had been a point where she could’ve prevented things from ending up the way it did. Perhaps she could’ve run away with Carlos when he begged her to escape the mansion. Or earlier, when Muzuri was killed and the twins started to go insane. Maybe even further back than that, when she and Carlos could’ve gone against their parents and ran away from their responsibilities, bringing Arte and Pollo with them.

But there’s no point wondering about it anymore. In the end, Arte and Pollo themselves were the ones who gave her the opportunity to run away. Now, she must live. In memory of her loved ones, and for the sake of her child, Banica will continue to live.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _Master of the Graveyard_

.

The twin demons in the wineglass laugh.

Tonight, they’ve been able to witness an exciting, noisy spectacle for the first time in quite a while.

After this, their master will probably change again. They’ve been obtained by a pair of siblings who don’t seem to realize that they’re related by blood. But the younger sister already has a prior contract, and the older sister doesn’t seem keen on consorting with their kind.

Well, that’s alright.

They want to see what sort of outcome their second father will pursue after this.

And it’s about time they reunited with their other friends, anyway.

They reminisce on their past. Ever since the day they devoured the demon and took on its role, several humans had taken ownership of them.

There was that phantom thief. She was entertaining as is, but in the end, they couldn’t extend their influence over her. The “remaining dregs of Sloth” prevented that, not to mention the truth of her identity. Though they didn’t realize it at the time, they had briefly met with their second mother again…

There was that mage who carried a teddy bear. She had altered her identity once again. She bore a hidden tremendous power, yet she was unsuited to be their owner. They’ve constantly met her after that as well, despite her constantly changing names and appearances. What happened to her, they wonder…

There was that knight’s daughter. What a coincidence that she was Banica’s descendant. For a moment, they felt happy again, reuniting with their “big sister”. But events transpired that they had to change hands—no, even vessels. They had to reside in the mirror. And if only the other sorceress hadn’t interfered…

There was that marquis’s wife. She had given them the most amusement, thought of them as her children, but they also pitied her the most out of all their masters. It seemed she wasn’t meant to exist. No, she was meant to have died long ago, and at the time she’d been mindlessly chasing after someone else…

The next was. Eighth, Sniper. They thought they could finally reunite with their first mother, but she turned out to be an impostor. And what’s more, she didn’t even form a proper contract with them, instead only temporarily borrowing their power. It was only fitting that she was sent down to Hell as punishment.

They’d continued to pass through the hands of various people after that—and tonight, a different Sniper has become their new master.

How much time has passed since they were born?

One hundred years? Five hundred years? Or perhaps… almost a thousand years?

At any rate, the one of the endings is sure to come soon. The time for them to leave the wineglass and become the “Master of the Graveyard” is likely also near.

Surely, this time—

They’ll eat everything in the world, without leaving anything behind.

Will this karma of evil ever come to an end?

…That’s something even they don’t know.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _Gloom of Held_

_._

In the southern region of Elphegort, “Held’s Forest”.

The sorceress Eve Moonlit reports on her findings to the Forest God, Held.

She had figured out the true identity of Arte and Pollo as the missing God Twins of Project Ma’s second iteration, Phobos and Deimos. The ‘Twin Swords of Levianta’ had turned out to be fakes, and the phantom thief Philautia had made off with the ‘God Twins’ Wineglass’ that she’d found in Conchita’s mansion.

Eve expresses her frustration at always being one step too late, punching Held’s tree trunk face. When he dismisses her tantrum by bringing up the newly-rebuilt Holy Levianta, she insists that the country hasn’t restored any of their past legacy, and therefore is of no concern… but she’ll keep an eye on it anyway, as penance to Adam.

A robin tries to interrupt their conversation, but Eve placates it by promising to play later. She argues back and forth with Held about other topics, finally bringing up her observation about Philautia, and how the phantom thief bears a great resemblance to the ‘Original Sinner’.

Held simply replies that because of the world’s rules, it’s common for people with the same face show up through the ages, and she needn’t worry over it. When pressed further, he instead tells her to ask ‘LeviaBehemo’, going silent when Eve questions him where to go to meet the Twin Dragon Gods.

Annoyed, Eve calls Held a lazy, irresponsible god, storming off. The robin from earlier, Michaela tries to fly after the sorceress, but quickly loses sight of her. Sighing, Held returns to his slumber.

.

Some time later, a new visitor arrives.

Held opens his eyes to see a young man garbed in a black robe, hugging a teddy bear to his chest. Instead of talking to the man, he greets the plushy, calling it by the name of ‘Meta Salmhofer’.

The teddy bear hops out from the man’s clutches, and he crumples to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. Patting the man’s lax face, as though he’s only asleep, the bear asserts that it had abandoned that name long ago, now going by ‘Makar’.

The young man is Banica and Carlos’s son, having grown up and worked as Beelzenia’s royal court poet, before willingly allowing Mary-Ann to transfer the Starlit Bear Mage’s possession over to him. In exchange, the mage had promised to find a cure for the illness that took his father’s life.

Surprised at how much time has passed while he slept, Held asks if the mage intends to keep that promise. It quietly affirms that yes, it will, but admits that such things would be better left to people who are more knowledgeable in the subject of poison and medicine, like shamans.

Like Eve.

Changing the subject, the bear questions if Held knows about the sorceress going by the name Eve Moonlit, though doesn’t press further when the forest god refuses to reply. Either way, it’s inevitable that they’ll meet one day, so there’s no need to hurry and find an answer.

Held asks why the bear is so keen to confront Eve; it replies that it wants to die by her hand. Surprised, he half-jokingly offers that he himself has the power to erase it from existence, but is stunned into thoughtful silence when the teddy bear insists that Eve has to be the one to strike the killing blow, as it would only be fitting.

They amicably part ways, the teddy bear re-exerting its control over the young man and leaving the forest cradled in his arms. Held muses that the mage is not as evil as she thinks she is, though he understands her guilt and the path she’s forcing herself to walk.

He doesn’t know what will happen if she somehow finds out the truth, fearing that she’ll completely lose herself and revert to her malicious true nature as a HER. He hopes it doesn’t come to that.

.

After a few days of deliberation, Held calls for Gumillia to rally the forest spirits and put up a barrier, one that will keep out those with tremendous magical power. Gumillia worries that Eve won’t be able to enter the forest, but Held assures her that it’s something that must be done for the sorceress’s sake.

Not only that, but he warns Gumillia that he might send her out of the forest someday. When asked why, he answers that there’s someone he doesn’t want Eve to meet, and that Gumillia will become her guardian for that express purpose.

But that time is far off, he reassures. For now, he’s just going to go back to sleep.


	8. La Clôture du Jaune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conspiracy of Evil: Preface

**Primary Song:** _Lucifer’s Prince_

.

“Now, kneel to me!”

.

The Kingdom of Lucifenia. A powerful nation ruled by a prince of fourteen years, Alexiel Lucifen d’Autriche. With impressive military might and a loyal knight-in-training as his personal guard, no one dares to go against him. What he desires most is the unification of Evillious under one banner, to fulfill his late father’s ambition.

Most of the kingdom’s wealth goes towards funding and maintaining the army. The commoners suffer from heavy taxes and those who voice objections are swiftly executed for treason. Turning his eyes to the neighbouring country of Elphegort, the prince wages war in order to conquer and make use of its resources.

Things come to a head when he orders the genocide of all green-haired women, after learning of a vocal protester spreading dissent throughout the masses. This earns him the ire of even his own subjects, and a revolution breaks out.

At last, the prince is captured and executed via guillotine. The people celebrate his death, save for a single person who has now become a fugitive.

* * *

**Secondary Song:** _Daughter of Evil_

.

“Fate divided, miserable twins.”

.

The Kingdom of Marlon across the sea. The king’s betrothed, Princess Riliane Lucifen d’Autriche, can only watch as chaos unfolds, helpless to do anything. She wonders when exactly the gears of fate started to spin wildly out of control.

She recalls her childhood. Always playing together by the seaside, until the schemes of the adults tear them apart. Alexiel takes the throne, while Riliane is sent over to Marlon to become the king’s future wife.

Alexiel was always a kind person, but something happened to make him into a cruel tyrant; Riliane wonders what that is. Perhaps the turning point is the merchants’ ball in Elphegort. The Marlon king falls in love with a diva of green; Riliane doesn’t resent him for it, since she’s always seen him as a brother instead of a fiancé.

But war soon breaks out, and the diva dies in a genocide of green-haired women. Knowing that Alexiel will likely become the scapegoat, she secretly travels to Lucifenia and reunites with him. As the revolution reaches a climax, she implicates herself as a conspirator of Alexiel’s crimes, sharing his selfish ambitions.

Now, the two of them stand before the angry crowd. Alexiel is executed first, and Riliane faces her death with a smile. Shedding tears as the guillotine’s blade falls, a fugitive wishes that the three of them can meet again in another life.

* * *

**Counterpart Song:** _Regret Message_

.

“If only we could be reborn…”

.

The Anonymous Coast, Lucifenia. A young woman stands by the sea, holding a glass bottle in her hands. Only realizing her sin after everything had already come to an end, she sheds tears of regret.

She is Alexiel’s personal guard, Germaine Avadonia. Training to become a knight under one of the Three Heroes, her adoptive father Leonhart Avadonia, she begins having self-doubts about her ability to succeed him. To hide her fears, she pushes Alexiel to pursue his father’s dream of unification. She wants to be to the prince what her father was to the king.

In the course of this, Germaine falls in love with a fellow squire, a young man from Elphegort named Ayn. But when she accompanies Alexiel to the merchants’ ball, she sees Ayn being friendly with a green-haired diva. Jealous, she persuades Alexiel to invade Elphegort and kill all the green-haired women, under the pretense of hunting for a political dissenter.

But everything quickly falls apart after that. Between the Lucifenian army’s exhaustion after the invasion of Elphegort, Marlon’s refusal to send reinforcements, and a revolutionary uprising among the commoners, the palace is overrun. Fearing death, she’s given an escape by the sudden appearance of Riliane, who reveals a secret pathway through a fireplace.

The twin siblings are executed for her sin. Casting her message of regret into the sea, Germaine wishes that she could go back to the time when the three of them played together by the seaside. If they could ever be reborn…

Behind her, someone approaches with a golden knife.

* * *

**Bonus Story:** _Story of Two Knights_

.

“There are things they both wanted to protect.”

.

The red-armoured hero fights for his country.

The green-haired squire fights for the one he loves.

For the sake of what they hold most dear, they wield their swords.

But the hero falls to a single cup of poisoned wine, and his daughter’s selfishness.

But the squire fails to save his loved one’s loved one, because of a girl’s selfishness.

Now, there is only regret.


	9. Das Wiegenlied von Grün

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conspiracy of Evil: Prelude

**Primary Song:** _Daughter of White_

.

“I’m sorry for being alive.”

.

Elphegort, the country of green. Clarith, a lonely girl, apologizes for living, wishing for even a single friend. Her wish is granted when a stranger, Michaela, arrives at her village, setting off a chain of events that leads to them moving to the city and finding work as a merchant’s maids. Overwhelmed by the changes, Clarith declares that as long as her friend is by her side, she’ll be happy.

On the night of the merchants’ ball, Clarith and Michaela reunite with another friend, Ayn. The three of them have a talk, Clarith content to simply listen to Michaela and Ayn declaring their dreams for the future. Before she is called away to help with the chores, Clarith sees a foreign king approaching Michaela. Jealousy blooms in her heart.

She and Michaela have a fight, which ends with Michaela declaring that Clarith is her “most important person”. But things quickly go awry. The Lucifenian prince wages war on Elphegort, ordering the genocide of all green-haired women.

Clarith is saved by Ayn, but Michaela is killed. In her grief, she pushes away Ayn, who promises to avenge Michaela’s death for her sake. After the prince is overthrown and executed, Clarith wonders why she still feels empty. She finds a young woman collapsed at the beach and takes her in.

The girl turns out to be Germaine Avadonia, the true Daughter of Evil.

As evening falls upon the seaside, Clarith approaches the mourning Germaine, golden knife in hand. She prepares to make the killing blow, but is stopped by the image of a pair of twins appearing in the twilight. Clarith realizes that even the evil girl has loved ones, and now they’re both all alone in the world.

Soon, Germaine opens up to Clarith and starts teaching her swordplay. Clarith vows to become strong enough to protect the ones that she loves. She and Germaine set out on a journey to reunite with Ayn.

* * *

 **Secondary Song:** _Tree Maiden ~Millennium Wiegenlied~_

.

“Let this millennium vow resound to the end of the earth.”

.

Held’s Forest, south of Elphegort. A spirit, Michaela, is reborn as a human with the aid of a whimsical sorceress. Bearing the appearance of the Original Sinner, she switches bodies with the sorceress to better blend in with the locals. The reason for all this is to grant the wish of a lonely girl, Clarith.

With the help of the village head’s son, Ayn, they escape the village that ostracized Clarith and make their way to the city. While Ayn continues on to Lucifenia to train to become a knight, Michaela and Clarith find work as a merchant’s maids. Though life in the human world is overwhelming, Michaela declares that as long she stays by Clarith’s side, she’ll be happy.

On the night of the merchants’ ball, Michaela and Clarith reunite with Ayn, discussing their hopes and dreams for the future. As Michaela takes her place on the stage, preparing to sing, she sees a young woman looking longingly at Ayn. She wonders if that’s the same face she makes when she looks at Clarith.

She and Clarith have a fight, which ends with her declaring that Clarith is her “most important person”. But things quickly go awry. The Lucifenian prince wages war on Elphegort, ordering the genocide of all green-haired women.

Michaela begs Ayn to save Clarith, before hiding at the bottom of the merchant family’s well. With the moon and stars shining bright in the sky above her, a knife suddenly plunges into her chest, dropped by a golden-haired assassin. As she bleeds out, Michaela laments that the truth will be lost to darkness.

With her dying breath, she wishes to be reborn once more.

* * *

 **Counterpart Song:** _Blink_

.

“To you, the span of a thousand years would only be a blink.”

.

A travelling swordswoman visits a sapling in the heart of the forest. She remembers her sins, and how much blood and tears have been spilled because of her. Wondering if she’ll ever be forgiven by the time the sapling grows into a tree, she makes a wish.

No longer for her own ambitions, nor for the ambitions of others—now, she’ll only wield her sword for an eternity of peace.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _Story of One Sorceress_

.

“The two spirits took the image of two sisters.”

.

The sorceress reincarnates two forest spirits as two humans.

One with the appearance of the Original Sinner.

The other with the face of the Virgin Mother.

To continue her journey, she switches bodies with the first, and takes the second as her apprentice.

She teaches them both about spells and songs.

But the first learns of love, and soon her life is scattered.

Due to the gears of fate spinning wildly out of control.

Now, there is only the sorceress and her apprentice left.


	10. Il Preludio del Rosso

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conspiracy of Evil: Lullaby

**Song:** _Twiright Prank_

.

“Together, we’ll paint the sky the colour of twilight.”

.

Riliane, Alexiel, and Germaine play by the seaside. This is the first time they’re alone together, away from the adults. Germaine digs up a black box from the sand, showing it off to the twins. A pair of demons emerge from the box once it’s opened, crying out in hunger.

Germaine doesn’t want to give them her snack, so Riliane gives hers instead, saying that she can share with Alexiel. In return, the demons tell the twins a secret; the legend of the sea, and how it will grant any wish in a bottle.

Then, condemning her selfishness, the demons possess Germaine, and she passes out after trying to remain in control of her body. Alexiel rushes to the palace to call for help, while Riliane stays by her side, begging her to wake up and be okay. They’re brought to Elluka, who exorcises the demons from Germaine, at the cost of her memories.

Soon after, the three of them are separated by fate. Riliane is sent over to Marlon to live with Kyle, Alexiel is declared the next in line to Lucifenia’s throne, and Germaine is made into his personal knight-in-training.

* * *

 **Bonus Story:** _Daughter of Fog_

.

“I, along with you, am the daughter of this fog.”

.

Gast Venom and Serafina Venom, a soldier and mage sibling duo, travel with General Shalgham’s Golden Dragon Unit while searching for their family heirloom. Stationed in the ruins of the Magic Kingdom, the group finds an altar at the center of the ruins, with most of them falling ill a few days after.

Shalgham orders his men to destroy the pagan altar, blaming the mysterious illness on it. Serafina tries to reason with him, but is stunned into silence when he reveals that he knows of their Venomania lineage, that their original names are Zenon and Sarah Octo, and that he’s only tolerating them because they’re the Asmodean Emperor’s “favourites”. Especially Serafina, considering her bewitching beauty and youthful face.

Enraged, Gast leaves the encampment, Serafina following him, as the general continues to hurl abuse at them. They spend the night beside the altar, keeping watch. Gast discusses deserting Asmodean, but Serafina rebuffs with the fact that they have nowhere to go, no home to return to. Gast reluctantly agrees to stay, and Serafina comforts him by promising that she’ll always stay by his side.

Just before dawn, Gast wakes from his sleep, hearing a noise. From within the clouds of rolling fog surrounding the altar, a figure emerges. It’s Serafina—no, “Sarah”, as she was when she was a half-starved waif. She claims to be the embodiment of Serafina’s unhappiness, given a physical form by the altar’s fog. She resents Gast for not defending her from Shalgham’s words, asking him to take revenge for her sake.

Waking up, Serafina tries to convince Gast that “Sarah” isn’t her. She notices that “Sarah” is holding the Glass Sword, the family heirloom they’ve been looking for. As a strange buzzing clouds her mind, Serafina forcibly takes the sword, spurred on by a voice claiming that “Sarah” will replace her and take Gast away if the altar is destroyed.

“Sarah” flees, retreating into the fog. Serafina stands by the altar, Glass Sword in hand, resolving to protect it from the army. Gast decides to defend her, promising that he’ll always stay by her side. Daybreak comes, and instead of the expected soldiers, “Sarah” approaches, hugging a teddy bear to her chest. She demands they return the sword to her, restraining the siblings with chains of shadow when they try to fight back, then leaving them to be found by the army.

Meeting with Shalgham, “Sarah” begs her father not to kill Gast and Serafina, as she’s reclaimed the sword and fell in love with Gast. She flies into a blind rage when he refuses to stop his plan, spurred by her combined wrath and bloodlust, and stabs him. Afterwards, she runs away, eventually meeting a monk of the Held sect and joining him as a pilgrim, eventually founding a monastery with him and succeeding him as the abbess, sealing away the Glass Sword along with a golden key.

* * *

 **Short Story:** _Adventure of a Boy and a Girl_

.

“I will protect you.”

.

The boy loved the girl with all his heart.

The girl loved another, and that love was returned.

Though his love was unrequited, the boy continued to protect the girl and her beloved.

Because the girl’s happiness was his happiness.

…

The boy failed to protect the girl’s beloved, and the girl pushed him away in his grief.

He promised to take revenge, even leading a revolution to fulfill that vow.

…

Though in the end, he ultimately left the choice of revenge up to the girl.

And he disappeared from the girl’s life once she made her decision.

…

A child found him, aimless, and asked him to come with her.

Together, they travelled the country, unravelling the conspiracy of evil.

The boy grew fond of the child, vowing to protect her and all those who joined them on their journey.

This time, he would keep that promise.

* * *

 **Short Story:** _Novelette of White_

.

“They all have their own battles to fight.”

.

Eve, Gumillia and Michaela.

Yukina, Ayn, Chartette and Lily.

Clarith and Germaine.

They reunite in the forest, where it all began.

Facing the threat of Kyle contracted to the demon in the Four Mirrors, Ney wielding the necromancy of the Twins' Wineglass, and the possessed Mikina with the stolen Venom Sword, they part ways once more.

Under Eve’s tutelage, Gumillia and Michaela have become powerful mages in their own right. With Michaela’s song amplifying Eve’s hypnosis, Gumillia manages to exorcise the demon out of Kyle.

Chartette is strong as Lily is strategic. But it is Yukina who figures out Ney’s weakness. Guided by her words, the girls clash swords until Ayn sees an opening and snatches the wineglass from Ney’s grasp.

Clarith and Germaine meet Mikina by the seaside. With Riliane and Alexiel’s voices ringing in her ears, Germaine subdues her and Clarith drives her blade into the stuffed bear doll, freeing Mikina from its control.

They reunite outside Hedgehog Castle, where everything will end.

…

“Oh, Clarith, you’re bleeding.”

“Hm? That’s just a scratch, Germaine. It will heal on its own.”

“How did you get hurt?”

“That teddy bear had such sharp claws despite being such an adorable doll.”

**Author's Note:**

> houfuku: (literally days before the oss novel drops) hey what if--  
> seisaku: if you say youre making yet another au im legally obligated to whack you with a broom  
> houfuku: yeah well... oop  
> seisaku: i am going to run out of brooms at this rate
> 
> will we ever continue this? who knows. but this format definitely takes less energy to write compared to astrainc so (screams into the void)
> 
> EDIT: yeah we are definitely going to continue this. stay tuned for more au hell


End file.
